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From George Maponga in Masvingo
Three people perished on the spot while 29 others were injured, two of them seriously, after a South Africa-bound bus veered off the road, overturned and landed on its roof along the Masvingo-Beitbridge Road early yesterday morning.

The accident occurred about 12km out of Masvingo city after the driver of the Blue Circles bus that was carrying 64 people, including the crew, failed to negotiate a curve and lost control around 2am.

The accident happened a few days after a horrific crash that claimed 31 lives along the Gweru-Harare highway near Kwekwe.

Bodies of the three were taken to Masvingo General Hospital mortuary and the 29 injured were admitted at the same hospital.

The two who sustained severe injuries were said to be in a stable condition at Masvingo General Hospital.

Acting Masvingo provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Kudakwashe Dhewa confirmed the accident.

“We are still gathering exact details of what actually caused the accident together with the names of the deceased,’’ he said.

Some of the passengers who were in the bus said the driver of the Blue Circles bus failed to negotiate a curve in the Nyanda hills and veered off the road.

The bus then reportedly overturned once before finally landing on its roof facing in the direction where it was coming from.

There have been calls for Government to expedite the dualisation of the Masvingo-Beitbridge highway that arguably has the highest carnage among all the country’s roads.

Government has since announced that the dualisation exercise was expected to start soon with bids for the project having already been submitted.

The highway is now being overwhelmed by high vehicular traffic as it also links Zimbabwe with its largest trading partner, South Africa.